Achievement 1D: Collect Them All
by Oblivion Keeper
Summary: Everyone has those strange things they collect: stuffed animals, stamps, greeting cards etc. But what should Ike be doing when Marth develops this strange new habit that is going to drive him out of his mind? -Oneshot, IkexMarth LinkxZelda


_**Achievement #1D: Collect them All:  
by: Oblivion Keeper**_

_**Summary: **_  
Everyone has those strange things they collect: stuffed animals, stamps, greeting cards. But what should Ike be doing when Marth develops this strange new habit that is going to drive him out of his mind? Oneshot, IkexMarth, LinkxZelda.

_**Rating: T+  
Language: English  
Genre: Romance/Comedy  
Chapters: 1  
Words: ~5,000  
Updated: 10-3-10  
Published: 10-3-10  
Characters: Marth, Ike**_

**_Disclaimer:  
_**I do not own anything owned by Nintendo, nor do I profit from his story in any monetary way. I write simply for the relief and satisfaction of a resolute ending. Thank you.

_**

* * *

**_

"You don't think this is getting a bit silly?"

Innocent cerulean met the annoyed sapphire with a naïve stare and the older of the two couldn't help but sigh and press his palm into his forehead, shaking his head ever so slightly. Ike Greil, mercenary since the day he was born and coined the most likely to suceed in this year's tournament, honestly couldn't take much more of this new point system the Hands had come up with to reward the brawlers for their work on the field if it turned his team mate into…this. You see, just below those innocent blues, the slightly pouting lips, and the regal clothes that accompanied the armor of the boy sitting on the floor, was a pile of slippery paper. A rather large pile of slippery paper.

Ike spent another few minutes just staring at it, his lips twisting into a scowl as he pondered what would happen if someone were to step on it. They'd probably slip and fall and get some critical injury. He would probably have to pay the hospital bill and insurance after the puppy-dog eyes from the owner of those malicious papers…

"Ike, they're not going to attack you."

The glare aimed at the papers was transferred to the boy. "I KNOW that. Why the hell do you keep bringing these back anyways?"

He was dismissed with little more than a wave of the royal's hand as he continued sorting the papers by the strange slippery images on the front side. "That's easy. Master Hand said before the tournament began that all the brawlers need to collect Crazy Hand's collection or they won't send us home by the time the tournament ends. I would prefer to go home once we're out of this crazy tournament, wouldn't you?"

With a final thought to Mist and several more to the strange dragon creature with the large tongue looming downstairs, Ike had to say he agreed. Home sounded good about now. "But why those? And why you? Just wait for everyone else to do it."

The exasperate sigh that come from the prince was all too distinguishable, even over the whirr of the ceiling fan to ward off the summer heat. "Ike, hush and help me sort them or I'll stick half of them to your face when you sleep."

Ike's eyebrow rose towards his hairline and that quirk in his lip remained. "I'd like to see you try." The taunt was too good to pass.

* * *

The sound of angry thuds resounded through Smash Manor for a good majority of the morning, chandeliers swinging in its wake. Every contestant knew better than to stay in the same area as the furious stomping approached them, paintings on the wall even cowering in the beast's wake.

Some assumed it was Bowser on a rampage once again.

Others had thought it was Ganondorf, throwing anything he could get his hands on in his rage.

Very few had actually seen Ike.

Link jumped, his cereal nearly spilling into his lap as the table literally bounced off the floor, arms sprawling to try and tame the table. Too bad it wasn't Epona and the problem was not actually the table, but the person who had seated himself at the other end.

The hand fisting the orange juice was white in the knuckles, Link noticed as he gazed shakily up at one of his newest friends since the most recent tournament began. Sapphire eyes were little more than narrow slits as they met the lighter blue of the Hylian's. "G'mornin…" Link mumbled around his food and arms that were still stabilizing the now unmoving table.

An animalistic grunt was all he received in return as Ike seated himself with a 'thunk'. Ike forked his eggs and extra helpings of bacon into his mouth with such force that by all rights they should have molecularly dissolved, but they stayed intact, even as he downed his drink after every rather large mouthful. A snicker would occasionally choke off from the other side of the table, where Link had resumed eating quietly, causing Ike's head to snap, literally SNAP, his direction every so often with a sour look welded onto his face. Several minutes passed before Link himself snapped. "What in the name of the Goddesses happened to your clothes?" At this point, Link was openly eyeing the strange patterned images stuck all across Ike's cape and tunic.

The tight jawed stare he received in response made Link wish he'd never asked. But he had, so he waited patiently with as innocent of eyes as he could muster. The answer was spat like poison had somehow invaded the mercenary's food. "Marth."

"Oh stop being such a spoiled sport." Link jumped as the prince became the third man in on the conversation, the trey full of assorted fruits hitting the table as lightly as Marth himself had taken an open seat near Ike. "You started it anyways."

"I didn't think you'd actually DO it!" Ike struggled not to yell and call attention to himself, but half the cafeteria was watching at this point anyways. "What were you THINKING?"

_Oh Din's Fire, why me?_ Link cringed and tried to inconspicuously scoot his way off the circular stool at the rounded table (what was it with Master Hand and circular objects?) as the two swordsmen persisted in their conversation, carefully sliding his trey along with him (and his unfinished meal) as an afterthought.

The prince offered a casual shrug as a spoonful of sugar-coated strawberries made it to his mouth. "I was thinking that you had challenged me to do so earlier that morning and I wasn't about to back down."

"BUT MARTH!" Half the cafeteria turned towards them and Link was forced to still himself mid-escape, tapping his fingers nervously on the table as Marth blinked at Ike's outburst.

His face now red, Ike visibly attempted to reign in his temper and continue his conversation as if nothing was wrong. But Ike of Crimea was nothing if not overly expressive, especially when it came to his irritation. "Why did you have to do it…THEN? Any other time, ANY OTHER-!"

Marth's face was nothing more than a blank slate as he inquired "Do it when, Ike?"

Link gulped as Ike's left eye developed a worry-some twitch. Ike didn't seem like he wanted to specify. Hell, Link was pretty sure he didn't want to know anyways, lest his brain melt as a result. "Wh…when you…during the…you KNOW, okay?"

"Afraid I don't." Marth offered, not at all helpfully. "I seem to have temporary amnesia. If you could remind me what was happening, I'd be glad to tell you, should it provoke some thought."

Link eased himself out of the chair, just as Ike's forehead met the surface of the table in what Link was sure to have been painfully. The elf had moved away as quickly (and quietly as possible) to the trashcan by the doors, dumping in what he didn't eat, when he heard "When we were having SEX alright?" '_CURSE THESE EARS!'_ Link could've cried if he hadn't known Zelda was nearby, one of the parties viewing the Fire Emblem boys from across the room."It totally killed the mood!"

Link stumbled as he made for the metal doors that enclosed the cafeteria, horrified even as he heard Marth continue in a pseudo-casual voice, "Oh I remember now. I'm surprised you got that off your nose by this morning, the things usually are more adhesive than that."

'_Get WHAT off his nose?'_ The elf could hardly contain his eagerness to escape, only to find Ganondorf himself entering the door. Normally he would just push right past him, but that would inevitably lead to some sort of fight. But he didn't have TIME for a fight right now! He needed out! "So in the middle of the hottest sex of my life-" '_OUT!' _"-you put one of those stupid papers on my nose and all you're worried about NOW is the STICKINESS-" '_OH NAYRU'S LOVE SAVE ME'_ "-of the things!"

Ganondorf's eyes roved to Link, who stood motionless, excluding the small twitch that had developed in the entirety of the right side of his body, with his face utterly pale. Had he had the time, he would've gone ahead and just asked what was wrong with his life-time nemesis, but no sooner had he made eye contact with Link, the boy's mouth fell open and he began to sprint away towards the door to the kitchens._ 'Gotta get out, gotta get out!'_ Marth's response was still making it to his ears, even over the arguing of the various groups in the cafeteria. Somewhere between the talks of girlfriends, dresses, and incomprehensible sounds made by those that couldn't technically speak, he could STILL hear "Well I don't want there to be anything wrong with the adhesive strips on the back! It could mean the quality of all the other ones is ruined too!"

At this point, Link was ready to die. His only happiness was that he had retreated far enough into the kitchen amongst the pots and pans to find Kirby's final smash melting pot (that had been confiscated for reasons unstated) and found that he could no longer hear Ike's response as he huddled inside the large orange contraption. In fact, it was rather silent here…he couldn't hear another thing those crazy swordsmen said! '_Thank Farore'…_

He only dreaded when he had to go out to watch the next brawl.

* * *

"I still can't believe you did that."

Marth sighed, looking over at his partner with pursed lips. His constant whining was really starting to make him regret that little move last night. "Ike, please. Would you just let it go?"

Ike made a face, pulling out the trail of his cape and pointing at several of Marth's accursed papers that had been stuck methodically to the underside of his cape, probably in hopes that they would not be found. "You think I didn't notice those? I refuse to put on anymore clothes until I know there's been nothing stuck to them!"

The prince rolled his eyes as Ike clunked down on one of the locker room's benches, arms crossed in defiance. Getting ready for this match was significantly harder than the last few times, Ike protesting louder and louder every time he found more and more of the things on his clothes, boots, and sword. Was making that sort of move during their nightly act that much of a taboo that Ike wouldn't accept even the item anymore?

The carefully folded cape ended up back in Ike's face as Marth tightened the straps holding his armor into place. "Look, we have to get ready for the next match. I personally don't care if you fight in just your boxers, but somebody in going to have a problem with it. Namely Master Hand."

Ike shrugged, pulling the cape off his face and putting it on the bench next to him. "I hardly care about the giant floating appendage at this point."

"Just put your bloody gear on, Ike."

"Jealous of the looks I'll get when a cavort across the stage?"

Marth shot Ike such a dirty look that the mercenary knew he was right. The prince really didn't like when other people's eyes moved to Ike in an "I-want-more-than-friendship" sort of way, and to be totally honest, Ike didn't actually mind. He didn't really plan on leaving the prince, but the atypically possessive responses that other people's interest drew from Marth never failed to make Ike smile, or at least smirk. Marth's angry face looking little more than an upset kitten really didn't make him much more threatening to the person he was mad at either, nor did it dissuade Ike from smiling like a fool. It was a major problem when they got into arguments. While Marth would try and dictate his side of the issue, Ike would just smile at him. That usually got him kicked in a place that Ashera didn't qualify as being nice, and huddled on the floor until his stomach calmed down. You really couldn't handle Marth with kid-gloves when he was mad.

So seeing the face Marth made at the current moment as his locker door slammed shut had Ike getting up and walking over to him, draping himself over the little prince's shoulders. "Hey, calm down." The mercenary breathed into his hair…

..Which earned him a hefty punch to the gut that left Ike winded for a few minutes, sitting on the floor as Marth stormed out the door, his blue cape billowing from the speed and force. One thing was for sure, Ike felt bad for their opponents today. With the prince on a rampage he'd have to memorize whoever he demoralized today and send them something as an apology later. Gift baskets usually worked…

Ike grabbed his pants from the locker that still stood open in one of the higher rows, frowning as he caught sight of the strange little blue haired boy in peasant's clothes stuck to the back, just below the back pockets. It was silly, Marth's obsession with these things, and even more silly that he found it necessary to decorate not only his own things with them, but Ike's as well. Just because they shared the same room did NOT mean that Ike wanted the strange pictures latched onto his every material possession.

As he pulled on his pants, Ike couldn't help but huff slightly. Marth wasn't usually so attached to physical possessions, which Ike had always thought to be strange. He was a prince wasn't he? Don't they usually enjoy those sorts of things? The perks of being royalty was always getting what you wanted, or so Ike had always assumed. All the same, Marth seemed just as happy getting nothing when he saw Ike than if he got anything at all. In fact, most of the time, he ignored whatever he was given to welcome Ike back from wherever he'd ventured off to. So what was the deal with these stickers? Perhaps Marth just had an addiction to collecting the things…or maybe someone was demanding them as ransom. No, that couldn't be possible. They wouldn't be showing up all over his stuff and off those slick papers if they were being used as currency.

Ike made a point to locate several other stickers, a yellow spiked ball with arms and legs that had been placed over a recently torn hole in his tunic's front by his stomach from a particularly rough battle with Sheik and her needles of doom, and a comical version of a treasure chest that was equally carefully placed on top of an old tear on his pants pocket. Honestly, why even these sorts of stickers? Didn't Marth have any more manly stickers to patch his stuff with? Ike twitched as he considered the possibility that Marth thought Ike himself was anything like the stickers he placed on him, specifically the little yellow puff, as his eyes caught a little girl in a pink skirt on one of the tails of his headband.

As much as he adored the attention Marth paid to making sure that holes or tears in his clothes were covered with the pasted bits of torment, this had to stop. He refused to have any more stickers placed on his clothes, and if he ever saw them on another pair of clothes of his, he was burning them first. Enough was ENOUGH.

The walk down to the arena from the locker room was no more fun for Ike. After slamming the locker shut, he found a small shield that was likely from Link's world stuck under his left shoulder guard, an animated piece of two firemen -and-Watches catching a civilian one on a stretcher stuck by the base of his gauntlet, and a comically large alligator placed on the bottom of one of his boots. The absurdity was astounding for the poor mercenary, and where he had been previously pumped for a battle on a team with his friend, lover, and fellow swordsman, he was more than a little put out when he reached the stadium.

"I see you didn't come naked."

Ike couldn't help but smirk at Marth, who he noticed would not make proper eye contact with him, even though they stood on their teleportation panels to the stage to begin the battle with no one else around. "I know it's depressing, princess. I'll resume being bare-chested later, but after a few of those wounds from Sheik I figured a shirt was a good idea."

The inelegant snort from Marth had Ike laughing, even as they were whisked away in a sudden burst of light to Hyrule Temple, where a voice called "3…2…1…GO!" and they were dropped out of the strange platforms to the stage below.

Link and Toon Link were spotted almost immediately, spawning atop the rather large stone structure and on the steps of the decimated temple, Marth himself falling behind a lump placed near center-stage that had probably once been part of the floor connected to the stretch of stairs that Toon Link stood on. It only took a few moments before Ragnell could be seen flying into the air by the disjointed ledge, the mercenary following it to begin the round. Marth shook his head, hopping over the lump as he saw the two Hylian's begin to zero in on just who their new opponents were.

'_Not these two again.'_ Link nearly sobbed where he stood as he saw Ike hop up onto the overhang, sword drawn and a large smirk on his face. "LINK!" _'Oh great, now he's seen me.'_

The elf did not respond, but shifted his eyes to find Marth. Catching the prince locked in battle on an open stretch of the stage with his toon self, (rather close to the edge for his own taste) it became obvious that the prince and the mercenary would fight separately this round…which gave him a speed advantage against Ike! Perfect!

"HEY!" Ike cried as Link threw himself at the taller boy, throwing them both off balance and swinging his sword around, narrowly missing Ike's head with such force it could have given him a concussion. _'This is for the mental trauma at breakfast!'_

"Ike, pay more attention!" The prince's voice called from where a patch of light had exploded.

Link's lips thinned. Toon Link was gone already? Useful team mate he was…he would just have to finish Ike off quickly, to make sure that the heavier, stronger mercenary and the lithe, swift prince couldn't team up on him and finish him off. He had to prove his strength to Zelda, after all! She was out in the stands, watching avidly, he was sure.

Meanwhile, Ike had realized Link was completely zoned out and used the opportunity to push him back across the stage using Ragnell as a ram, sending the elf to the floor and his bottom. Marth sighed, watching from the side of the stage as he paced and checked the rather extensive stage for items once again. It was all he could really do at this point in the battle since Ike never liked it when he interrupted his battles and knew better than to step in, even when Ike was obviously nowhere near a match for the speed Link was pushing onto him and that the battle they were currently in was TECHNICALLY a team battle. Why did he have to be so stubborn? It's not like Marth was a burden, he'd probably help more than he would hurt. It was just like the stickers…Ike never wanted his help, no matter how much good his help really did.

With a swoop of his cape, Marth approached Ike with all intents to help. Marth didn't care. He'd help Ike if it killed him.

Ike smirked as Link attempted to regain his footing after a particularly strong blow, eyes catching the abnormality on his owns clothes for the umpteenth time. He could still occasionally make out the tiny black and white outlines of the firefighter sticker on his arm and would feel nothing more than irritation as he remembered the evil stickers were all over the rest of his clothes as well. Was there no safe place he could hide his clothes and belongings to avoid getting more stickers on them? Maybe he should invest in a safe…that way Marth wouldn't be able to reach any of his stuff without the code, which he had no idea where to hide. It couldn't very well be anywhere on his person…

The thought made Ike turn scarlet, looking away from Link as the elf recovered and a piece of fluttering paper caught his eye. Another sticker. Just what he wanted to see right now. With a sigh, the mercenary momentarily thought about grabbing it, but it was drifting off the far edge. No matter how much Ike loved Marth, he was most certainly NOT about to jump off the edge for one stupid piece of paper. Knowing how many Marth had, he probably already had that-

"MARTH WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Ike cried as the prince darted past his line of vision, headed towards the side of the stage.

Link watched in confusion as Marth sprinted past, jumping off the far end of the stage by the underground platform. Both he, Ike, and Marth knew that people just didn't recover from going off that ledge, which was probably why Ike was gone from in front of him in a heartbeat, running over to where Marth had flung himself off and thrown himself off with him.

Marth's eyes glittered as his hand moved closer to the scrap of paper, only to find himself halted before his fingers could curl around it. But he was SO CLOSE! "IKE!" Marth called up at the mercenary who had hindered him. "LET ME GO!"

Ike grit his teeth, his gauntleted hand still firmly around Marth's right wrist and his other stretched and latched so powerfully to the ledge above that his knuckles were turning colors. "You have GOT to be kidding me, Marth! You are NOT going off this edge for another scrap of paper!"

"But Ike-!"

"NO BUTS!" The mercenary was roaring at this point, the prince flinching to hear the angered tone that was usually devoid from his lover's voice. "You probably already HAVE that one ANYWAYS!"

"So what!" Marth shot back just as viciously, his hand still groping after the paper even as it began to flutter farther towards the abyss below. "A duplicate can still be useful, regardless of the-!"

"QUIT BEING SO SELFISH!"

The hair of cobalt swirled up as the prince caught his eye and Ike felt the utter look of pain and shock that flashed across the prince's face impact him like a physical blow, his heart seeping down into his stomach. Though his tongue complied with attempting to take them back, his throat would not agree. If only he could just absorb them back into his being… but there they were, lingering before him as he and Marth dangled off the cliff's side and the prince stared up at him, water beginning to build in the corners of his eyes.

How could he say that? Marth? Selfish? Anything but. The prince was always helping around the manor, doing things he wasn't even assigned to do and taking care of the smashers like an overprotective mother when someone got sick, or asked for his guidance. He'd been there through heartbreaks of every kind, family deaths, even when Ness lost his baseball bat from his home world, which his father had carved the boy's own name into many years ago. Marth was always there, always a shoulder to cry on.

The hand below was no longer reaching for the sticker as it fell, but fisted as the prince attempted to hold in his emotions. If he had thought that Ike hadn't understood before, he was sure of it now. "You think this is a game?" Marth whispered to Ike, the mercenary only making out a word or two.

"Marth, this is not and will never be a game! This is your life; don't toss yourself off the edge for a fucking sticker!" Ike felt his fingers slip, the sweat coating them and the soreness of his muscles getting the better of him. "Now hold on and I'll put you back up so we can keep the round going!"

"Don't you understand?" The choking voice cracking with resisted sobs made Ike's own throat clench shut tightly. "I'm doing this for you!"

"Marth, I don't even LIKE those things!"

Marth's eyes caught the small yellow sticker on the abdomen of Ike's tunic, and the shield under his shoulder pad. "And yet…" '…_you still wear them.'_

"Marth just stop it! I'll…I'll let you put stickers on anything else of mine that you want! Just don't get THAT one!"

'That one' was currently fluttering to the ground far, far below. Marth smiled up at Ike, tears gone from his eyes, but the trails still marked his cheeks. "Ike."

The mercenary looked to the prince below him, fingers still unable to hold on in a firm grip and slipping more and more with each passing second. He shot a glare at the hand holding the edge for a brief moment. Why wasn't THAT one slipping too? "Marth, don't you dare let go of me." He responded, voice a stern command.

Marth shook his head, completely releasing Ike's arm from his own grasp. The weight of the prince (though he was light) was far too much for the exhausted, slick hand of the mercenary to handle. Ike made a desperate snatch for Marth's hand as he continued on his way down, still aiming for that sticker. Ike was forced to shield his eyes as the red light erupted from the pits of the stage, signifying a player out. Marth was out of the match…for a sticker.

Link, miraculously, was not on the edge once Ike had recovered enough sense to pull himself back up, Ragnell sitting on the floor before him as he huffed and attempted to catch his breath. "Dammit…" Ike whispered, so quietly that he was sure Link had not heard him. "Dammit…"

He tried to resist his shoulders shaking as his body tried to sob, snatching the black hilt of his sword from the ground and pulling it up to eye sight. There, on the tip of the sword was a sticker. A GOD FORSAKEN STICKER. Ike was going to lose it if he saw another, and this sticker just happened to be at the very wrong place at the worst possible time. The mercenary worked his finger beneath and tore off the multicolored bird with a 'RIP', tossing it off the edge and staring as the red and orange wings fluttered out of view. Those stupid things…why did Marth like them so much? They didn't do anything but make whatever they touched look gaudy. They didn't serve a purpose! They were just THERE!

Link chose that moment to make himself known, approaching as ninja-like as he could with all his gear on as Ike peeled off sticker after sticker from his clothes. Down off the edge went Hiroshi, followed by Kritter, Yellow Virus, Fire, Hylian Shield, Treasure Chest and the Flower Fairy Lip, drifting off the edge after Ho-oh. Link had halted, staring at those papers. That explained a lot.

Then he charged.

Ike looked up, noticing his opponent as his gear all clattered together and worked his way to his feet. WHOA. Was his sword always this heavy? It wasn't that he couldn't lift it, it just felt different in his hands….and then Link's Master Sword connected with his torso, adding another tear where Sheik's needles had hit him earlier that week.

The mercenary flew YARDS back into the underground complex, where he usually only flew feet! What was happening! Ike took a savage swipe at Link's torso, connecting but doing very little to the Hylian compared to the amount of terror he inflicted before. Even Link looked surprised, before gaining a triumphant smirk and moving towards him once again. Ike, not completely understanding the situation at this point, backed away slowly, even as Link drew a makeshift bomb from a pouch behind him and light the fuse.

WAIT.

Ike rushed forward, snatching Link's hand and causing the bomb to drop before exploding on the ground near their feet. Ike's cape suffered a little fringe damage, but he cared very little as he identified just what was fixed onto Link's gauntlet. "Is that a…lantern sticker?" Ike questioned.

"Is this really the time?" Came the unexpected answer.

With a nod, Ike tightened his grip on Link's wrist, causing the elf to squirm a little bit from pain before settling back down. "YES. It's a lantern sticker."

Ike huffed. So Marth was giving the things out like candy now, was he? And here he was thinking he was special…"Where'd you get it?" Ike muttered, pretty much KNOWING the answer already.

"Zelda."

The confused face allowed Link to read him like a book. "What, you thought Marth gave it to me?"

The nod was all the answer Link needed before wrenching himself away. "Marth isn't the only one who cares about his team mates, you know! Zelda wanted to make sure I was safe this match, so she gave me this sticker."

Blank looks were all he received in return. "How the hell does a STICKER help you stay safe in a match?"

Link shook his head. "You should really listen when Master Hand talks about these sorts of things. Stickers aren't just pieces of paper that are put here and there for fun. They give you special attributes that help you in battle. Since you have some eruption moves, Zelda gave me this lantern to give me some fire resistance." Link pointed towards the edge. "I saw those ones you were tossing off earlier. They were really well balanced for you, picked up your attack, speed, and fire attacks. The yellow virus one made me laugh though. It's supposed to increase the effects of food. I guess this round I've been getting a taste of your eggs and bacon from this morning!"

Link's laughter was lost on Ike as the mercenary stared into the distance, hand still fisting the elf's wrist rougly. Those stickers…weren't useless? _"Hey are you going to let me down now?"_ But why hadn't Marth told him they were so important? _"I…Ike you're making me nervous." _Marth had been helping him all along in his own way! _"Ike…IKE! HEY! Lemme go!"_ THAT'S why the stickers were so important to the prince! Because Ike himself was! _"Leggo! Hey, this exceeds the throw and grab timing listed in article VII of the-"_

Ike threw Link to the side, running to the top of the stage before the Hylian could even pick up on what happened, and sure enough there was a small scrap of paper lying on the top of the overhang that he had been previously fighting on, waiting for Marth to come and pick it up. WELL. Marth wasn't here today. But Ike was.

The mercenary scooped up the sticker (even as Link had completely lost any hold to the stage from the uncouth toss from Ike earlier and began to fall), smiling as he saw the pattern on it. Marth would like this one.

* * *

Before Ike could even tell what was happening, arms were around him and the mercenary was smiling into a head of blue hair. His arms immediately returned the embrace, even as he felt the smaller male shaking as silent sobs racked his body. He couldn't resist chuckling, getting a weak punch to the gut for his inappropriately placed laughter. "S-Stop laughing!" The younger blubbered out, words hardly understandable as the tears continued to pour. "I didn't think you'd be alright when I saw you peel the stickers off and get thrashed out there!"

Ike smiled gently, holding Marth close to him. "That? That was nothing. Though I suppose I wouldn't actually mind it if you wanted to put stickers on my stuff again."

Marth's eyes finally came up to meet the mercenary's, a wobbly smile on his lips. "…you mean it?"

Ike smirked, pushing the peeled sticker from before he left the stage onto Marth's cape opposite the side his broach was on, the image adhering. "Of course I do."

The prince smiled, feeling warmth spread over him at the sight of the red headed general pressed over his heart as the mercenary who had his hand took him away from the lounge. As they walked away down the hall, he couldn't resist pressing the sticker he had earned in his sacrifice to the center of Ike's cape, it sticking just as easily.

Not that Ike minded having a sticker of the Heart Piece pressed to him.

Not this time.

* * *

Oware 1:

Link watched, arms and legs wrapped and bound in casts of the highest caliber, as Marth and Ike walked away from the smasher lounge from the couch, seriously wondering why he had the worst luck in the world to be friends with the older mercenary. As far as he was concerned, it was official. All men from the Fire Emblem universe were out of their minds. "I hate this place…" Link mumbled under his breath, only his girlfriend seating next to him hearing him.

Zelda smile calmly, pressing another picture of Kafei and Keaton's Mask to his casted arm and the newest assistant trophy, Lyn, to his chest. "I know you do."

* * *

Oware 2:

"If you press that sticker to my nose again, I am NEVER doing this with you in the future."

"Awww come on, Ike. You know I wouldn't do that."

"Hmmmmm…"

"Plus, you couldn't stand being without me that long."

…

"Um….Ike, where are you going?"

SLAM!  
…

"Spoiled sport…"

* * *

(A/N:) Oh boredom is bad for me. It wrote itself when I got to 1500 words. Now it's just like…uhm…I HAVE NO EXCUSE. Enjoyed it? I had fun writing it. So this whole thing was a little spontaneous, but I was playing brawl as usual and that exact thing happen to me. I was Marth and jumped off the stage after a sticker. Which is, sadly, nothing new. I wanted it. I do that a lot. I play brawl with my friends quite a bit, and in the past they would neglect to pick up stickers and use them as bait so I would run into their more powerful attacks. I have since incorporated the ability to grab stickers while I attack into my fighting style. It's very sad, but i've got 695/700 stickers. And that's the only challenge i'm missing, so i'll be playing brawl until I get it.

This was really just a practice oneshot before I start writing a series of stories (some related, some not) but those may take a while to actually post. So please R&R, flames are accepted!

By the way, I know Link is pretty lame this go around, but it was necessary to have someone pretty lame for this one :P I love Link though, don't get me wrong. :P

-O.K.(Oblivion Keeper)

By the way, 20 points to whoever guesses what the sticker Ike had was. I tried to spell it out without saying much, but I didn't want to put the entire sentence up there.

Anyways, enjoy and _**REVIEW**_!


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